Not long after the children left, Curtis folded the newspaper, grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair, and slipped it on. “Breakfast was great as usual, Agnes.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“Oh and, hey, if you get time, I think I have some dry cleaning that needs picking up.”
“You do. I was planning to go there this afternoon.”
“Thanks, Agnes.” Then he glanced over at Charlotte. “You have a good day.”
“You, too,” she said.
When he left, though, Charlotte wanted to burst into tears. He was so cordial, polite, and pleasant toward her, and the more he behaved this way, the more nervous she became. She was bothered because these noticeable niceties of his meant that he couldn’t care less about her being his wife anymore and that he was looking forward to moving on and finding someone else. He hadn’t stated those words exactly, but his actions screamed his future intentions—loudly and clearly—and his calm demeanor and straightforward conversation told her she needed to act fast if she wanted to keep her husband.
Although, sadly, she was starting to feel that the idea of saving her marriage was slipping further and further out of her reach and that not even the most desperate attempt at sustaining it would make a difference. It was the reason she’d never felt more troubled.
Chapter 5
The morning had zipped by pretty quickly, and now Curtis sat in his conference room, preparing for their weekly staff meeting to begin. There were a total of fifteen people in attendance, but those sitting closest to him carried the most responsibility. To his immediate right was his longtime executive assistant, Lana Jenkins, and to his left were his two lead officers, Elder Jamison and Elder Dixon, who were now paid full-time salaries as a result of all the added duties they’d taken on since moving to the larger facility. Also in attendance were his first and second assistant pastors, Nicholas Simmons, a thirtysomething minister who was a truly dynamic speaker, and Sam Morgan, a wonderfully kind man who’d just turned fifty-five and had retired from corporate America about a year ago. Then there was the new CFO, Kendra Smith, who’d replaced the former CFO Raven Jones—the woman who’d been caught embezzling money from the church and was now serving time for it. Finally, there was Riley Davison, senior director of broadcasting.
Everyone filed into the room, and soon the meeting was called to order.
Lana gently swept her salt-n-pepper bangs to the side of her face. “The first thing on the agenda is a review of the goals we’ve met so far this year and those we still need to accomplish before the end of December.”
“Let’s start with the former,” Curtis said.
“Gladly,” she said, smiling. “First, we successfully moved into the new church in a seamless fashion and without any major inconveniences to the members. Second, the membership has already increased twenty percent, even though we were only expecting fifteen.”
Everyone applauded.
“God is good,” Curtis beamed.
“That He is,” Lana said. “Third, our children’s ministry is up and running at full capacity. Not only do we finally have enough adult volunteers to run it, but we now also have a few who have been placed on a waiting list.”
“You can’t beat that, sweetheart, now, can you?” Elder Dixon said, laughing. “You can’t beat that at all.”
“Number four…,” Lana said, blushing and trying not to look at him.
Curtis wondered why after all these years, Lana still pretended she and Elder Dixon weren’t an item. Everyone knew they were, though.
“The television commercials are working in high capacity, and there are more visitors attending because of it. And finally, goal number five, Deliverance Outreach has officially been nominated for Church of the Year by the newspaper.”
Everyone clapped and spoke loudly. They were all very excited.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Elder Jamison said, reaching across Elder Dixon and high-fiving Riley Davison.
Curtis relaxed farther into his chair. “Wow. We’ve certainly come a long way in a very short period of time, haven’t we?”
“That’s for sure,” Lana said. “And this is only the beginning, Pastor.”
“You know… I really believe that. And I’m trusting and depending on God to do even more.”
Elder Dixon leaned forward. “He will, Pastor. You just wait and see. He’s gon’ bless this church in every way ’maginable.”
They discussed remaining goals and a few other items, and then Curtis brought up a problem that was sort of troubling him. “Before we move on to broadcasting, there is something I would like us to improve on.”
“What’s that, Pastor?” Elder Dixon asked.
“Visiting the sick and shut-in members. We’re not getting out nearly enough to see them in a timely fashion, and it’s unacceptable.”
“Did someone complain?” Elder Jamison asked.
Elder Dixon pursed his lips. “Probably that ole Vera Jean Cox woman.”
Everyone snickered, and Curtis knew why. “Come on now, Elder Dixon.”
“What? Everybody in here knows that woman is a hypochondra or whatever you call it.”
“Hypochondriac,” Curtis said, “but we knew what you meant.” Elder Dixon didn’t have the keenest vocabulary in the world, but he also wasn’t ashamed of it and was one of the sharpest men Curtis knew. He was also dependable, and Curtis admired that more than anything.
“Is that how you pronounce it?” Elder Dixon said. “Anyway, every time we turn around, that woman is ailin’ with somethin’, and I just don’t think it’s right for us to have to run over to her house every time she get the sniffles. I mean, even babies don’t demand that kind of unnecessary attention.”
Everyone laughed and Curtis said, “She did call the church a few times, saying she’d been sick for an entire week and no one came to see her.”
Elder Dixon looked at Elder Jamison and then back at Curtis. “And when was that?” he asked, frowning.
“Last week.”
“Last week? Wasn’t she here at church on Sunday?”
“Yep,” one of the younger administrative assistants down at the other end of the table said, and she and another young woman from accounting laughed.
Elder Dixon threw his hands in the air. “I rest my case.”
“Still, though,” Curtis said, “now that we have a lot more members, we need to create a better system and figure out a better way to schedule everyone in.”
“Well, Pastor,” Lana said, “you’re busy enough, and you already cover members and their loved ones who are gravely ill.”
“True, but even if someone breaks a hip, I want someone to visit them. I want us to make sure they’re okay and that they aren’t in need of anything. That’s what we’re here for.”
“I’ll sit down and take a closer look at how we’re handling things now,” Elder Jamison said, “and then I’ll present a new plan next week.”
Curtis nodded. “Sounds good. I appreciate that.” Then he looked at Riley, his broadcasting director. “So how’s everything with our radio and TV ministry?”
“Everything’s going great. I still think we can perfect a few things, and while we’re up and running pretty smoothly here locally, I’m hoping we can begin rolling out our services on a regional basis by early next year. Then, of course, after that, we’ll start moving toward the idea of going national. It’s a big step, but with the way things are going, I have no doubt it’ll happen.”
“Glad to hear it,” Curtis said. “That’s been a dream of mine for a very long time.”
After they followed through on a couple of other agenda items, Curtis was shocked when Charlotte knocked on the door and opened it. He wondered why she was all of a sudden attending staff meetings again. She’d been doing so for nearly a year, but prior to his decision to divorce her, she’d stopped coming to the meetings entirely. He hoped she wasn’t thinking her participation would influence him in some way, because if s
he did, she was sadly wasting her time.
“Hey, Charlotte,” Lana said, greeting her.
“Hey, Lana. Hi, everyone.”
They all spoke to her, and interestingly enough, many of them were clearly glad to see her. They’d grown to love Charlotte over the last year, once she’d begun showing up more often, but they also didn’t know what she’d done. They had no clue she’d betrayed their pastor with outside men.
“I’m so sorry for arriving late.”
Lana passed her a copy of the agenda. “Don’t worry about it. We’re just happy you’re here.”
“Is there anything else?” Curtis asked everyone, glad the meeting was almost over now that Charlotte was there.
“I have something,” Charlotte said. “If it’s okay.”
“Of course,” Lana said.
Curtis wanted to object, but he didn’t want anyone thinking something was wrong. He would have to make an announcement to the congregation about their marriage soon enough, but he didn’t want anyone suspecting anything beforehand.
Charlotte rested her elbows on the shiny table. “First of all, I’d really like to take our women’s ministry to a whole new level, so I wondered if I might be able to hire another assistant. Someone who would be dedicated just to the women’s ministry.”
Curtis looked at her and then around the room. To his dismay, everyone looked at him, waiting for a response—he guessed because Charlotte was his wife. Truth was, he couldn’t understand why she was asking for anything when in a matter of months, she would no longer hold the position of first lady. They’d be divorced, and even if she decided to remain a member of Deliverance Outreach—she was the cofounder, after all—he would see that her responsibilities with the women’s ministry were transferred to someone else. He also couldn’t imagine any ex-wife wanting to be in the presence of her ex-husband’s new wife once he remarried. But then, when it came to Charlotte, there was no telling what she might do.
“I think we should revisit that topic another time,” he finally said.
Charlotte didn’t look too happy but nodded.
“So, if there’s nothing else, meeting dismissed,” Curtis said, sliding back his chair.
Charlotte got up from the other end and walked over to him. “I need to talk to you about something.”
All the staff members left the room, and as Lana walked out she said, “Don’t forget you have a conference call in twenty minutes, Pastor.”
“Thanks, Lana,” he said, and she closed the door behind her.
“What is it, Charlotte?”
She took a seat adjacent to him. “Us.”
She was starting to get on his nerves, but he kept his mouth shut and listened.
“I’ve been thinking about our conversation on Sunday. I’ve also thought about all the infidelity that we’re both guilty of, but no matter how I try to accept the idea of divorce, I can’t. You see, Curtis, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone, and now I realize I can’t live without you.”
Curtis repositioned his body, making himself more comfortable. “Look, I hear you. Believe me I do, because there was a time when I felt the same way. But not anymore. It’s like I told you the other day—too much has happened. Too much betrayal and deceit. Too many lies and far too much pain, and I can’t do this with you anymore. You and I have had enough drama to last a lifetime.”
Charlotte grabbed one of his hands with tears flowing down her face. “But I love you, Curtis. I love you so much I can’t even explain it.”
“Maybe. But you’ll get over me soon enough. You’ll eventually find the man of your dreams, someone you truly want to be faithful to.”
“But, baby, I don’t want someone else. I want you,” she said, sniffling.
“I’m sorry,” he said, slipping his hand away from hers. “I know this isn’t easy, but, Charlotte, I just don’t want to be married to you.”
“Maybe if we went away for a long vacation, just the two of us. Maybe we could hash out everything, and you’d finally be able to forgive me. I know I really hurt you last year, but I’m willing to do anything you want. Anything it takes to make things up to you.”
“I keep telling you that I have forgiven you.”
“Then what’s the problem? Why are you doing this to us?”
“I’m filing for divorce because whenever I look at you, I don’t feel anything. I feel like you’re someone I don’t even know.”
“You don’t mean that,” she said, obviously stunned by his words. “Not after all the years we’ve been together.”
“I wish I didn’t, but it’s the truth. There’s a part of me that does still love you, but I’m not in love with you. I haven’t been for months now, and it really is over between us.”
“Baby, please,” she said, touching his hand again. “Please just give this a little more time. Let me make this right.”
“You’re going to be well taken care of,” he said. “You’ll never have to worry about anything. But you do need to start looking for your own place.”
Charlotte’s stomach churned. “What about Curtina? What about how sad that little girl is going to be once she realizes she won’t see me anymore?”
Curtis could tell he wasn’t getting through to Charlotte and decided the best thing to do was end the conversation. “I have to get going,” he said, standing up.
Charlotte got up, too, moved closer to him, and quickly wrapped her arms around him. “Baby, I’m begging you,” she said in a hurry. “Please don’t throw our marriage away like this. Please don’t break up our family. Please, Curtis. Please don’t do this.”
He grabbed her arms from his neck and backed away from her. “Charlotte, please pull yourself together. And then go home.”
“Dear God, please, please, please, don’t do this,” she declared, frantically reaching toward him again.
But Curtis only stared at her and soon left the conference room. He headed down the hallway and wondered when Charlotte would finally realize their divorce was practically a done deal. He hoped it would be sooner rather than later. For his sake and hers.
Chapter 6
Charlotte drove in front of Curtina’s school as if she were on autopilot. She couldn’t stop thinking about Curtis and part of what he’d said to her: “Whenever I look at you, I don’t feel anything.” His words had been noticeably cold and far too forthright, and they’d cut her straight to the bone. What hurt her more, though, was that she now thought back over the years before their marriage when she’d slept with her first cousin’s husband. Then she’d slept with Aaron, Curtis’s best friend, and had gotten pregnant. She’d done so many awful things throughout her adult life, and they’d all come back to haunt her. She was reaping what seemed ten times more than what she had sown, and she knew these consequences were a result of her actions—her sleeping around on Curtis like some whore. Back then, she hadn’t looked at things quite the way she did now, and she was so embarrassed. She was terribly ashamed of the way she’d betrayed Curtis, especially since he’d kept his promise and commitment to her. He’d made mistakes, too, but over the last four years, he’d remained consistently true to her and couldn’t have been a better husband.
Charlotte watched as all the teachers, aides, and children exited the building and soon saw Curtina running toward the car. Other children did the same, and they all seemed relieved to be out of school and going home.
“So how was your day, sweetie?” Charlotte asked, hugging Curtina and waiting for her to slide into her booster seat, which she was nearly too tall for, but legally she had no choice but to sit in.
“Good.”
“I’m glad,” she said, securing Curtina’s seat belt and going around to the driver’s side and getting in.
“Guess what, Mommy?”
“What’s that?”
“You know my friend Jada?”
“Yes.”
“Well, she told me her parents are getting something called a divorce and that her dad won’t be livin
g with them anymore.”
Charlotte drove away from the school but could barely fathom how ironic this was. Here she’d just had her own divorce discussion with Curtis less than an hour ago and now Curtina was disclosing bad news about her little friend’s parents.
“I’m really sorry to hear that, honey.”
“So, does divorce mean mommies and daddies don’t love their kids anymore and that’s why they don’t want to be together?”
“No, honey, of course not. It doesn’t mean that at all.”
“Does it mean Jada won’t ever get to see her dad again?”
“No, it doesn’t mean that either. I’m sure Jada’s dad loves her very much, and she’ll still see him all the time.”
“I hope so, Mommy, because Jada was very sad. She was even crying, and I’m glad you and Daddy won’t ever get a divorce because that would make me sad, too.”
Charlotte stopped at the red light, looked at her daughter in the rearview mirror, and fought back tears. Thankfully, Curtina wasn’t paying much attention and said, “Mommy can you turn on the DVD player?”
“Sure.”
“Thank you,” she said, already singing along with one of her favorite cartoon characters.
Charlotte continued driving but it wasn’t long before she realized something. Maybe this unfortunate situation with Jada’s parents had happened for a reason. Maybe it was divine intervention, because Charlotte now had the perfect plan. She’d come up with a sure way to bring Curtis to his senses.
She glanced at Curtina in the rearview mirror again. “Sweetie, you know what?”
Curtina had on headphones, though, and couldn’t hear her. So Charlotte waved her hand toward the backseat and Curtina removed them. “Yes, Mommy?”
“You know what?”
“What?”
“I was just thinking. Maybe you should tell your daddy about Jada’s parents so he can pray for them.”
“Okay,” she said, slipping her headphones back on.
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